1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hunting blinds. Specifically, the invention is a hunting blind having an enclosed shelter, a vertical tube, and a vent at the bottom of the shelter, which permits the airflow through the blind to flow upward, expelling the occupant""s scent high enough so that nearby animals will not smell it.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several inventors have devised other hunting blinds. However, most hunting blinds are designed primarily to fool the animal""s eyesight, not their sense of smell. Conversely, the present invention is designed to disguise a hunter or wildlife observer from both the animal""s eyes and its nose.
Some inventors use box-shaped blinds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,018,857, issued to Roy P. Parham, describes a portable, enclosed, collapsible blind comprising hingedly connected panels. The blind is basically box-shaped with an open window in front, and a roof which folds out of the way to allow shooting to the rear. U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,507, issued to Arvil L. Stinnett, describes a blind comprising a collapsible frame covered with cloth.
Other inventors have taken additional steps to make their blinds look like part of the natural environment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,717, issued to Edward O. Horsmann, describes a blind shaped like a bale of hay comprising tenting material covering a tubular frame. U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,019, issued to Patty A. Sury, describes a box-shaped blind having a tubular frame and fabric covering. The top is see through, and the sides have loops for holding surrounding vegetation to disguise the blind. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,966, issued to Rocky A. Hall, describes a cylindrical blind having walls resembling a tree trunk, windows on all sides, and a roof with channels to direct rain away from the windows.
A third style of blinds was designed to elevate the hunter out of an animal""s line of sight. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,142, issued to Charles F. Reneau, describes an elevated blind without any cross-brackets between the legs, intended to make assembly easier. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,716, issued to Tom H. Chrisley Jr., describes a cylindrical blind having windows facing all directions, mounted on a fixed or mobile stand in a manner allowing it to be raised or lowered.
Foreign patents related to tree stands include Austrian Pat. No. 54,220 and Swiss Pat. No. 348,230.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a scent-free wildlife blind solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The present invention is a hunting blind designed not only to hide a hunter from an animal""s sight, but also from the animal""s sense of smell. The blind comprises a completely enclosed room-type, shelter, having a small air vent at the bottom, and a reinforced flexible hose extending from the top of the blind to a height of approximately 30 feet. A preferred hose is 4 inches in diameter, corrugated, and wire reinforced. Such a hose will be free-standing, but can be lowered to facilitate moving the blind. Preferably, the bottom vent is approximately 4 inches in diameter. The blind includes a door and a plurality of windows, which are substantially airtight when closed, but which can be opened to allow entry/exiting, and to allow shooting from the blind.
When the above-described blind is placed in a field, the wind will create the appropriate airflow due to the air speed differentials between the top vent opening of the hose and its bottom vent opening. For purposes of example, the speed of the wind will be zero at ground level, because of the friction between the wind and the ground. For all distances from the ground low enough to be relevant to this discussion, windspeed will increase with increasing height. The wind is therefore travelling faster 30 feet from the ground, at the top of the flexible tube, than it is near ground level, at the lower air vent. It is well known in physics that, where fluid or gas flow is concerned, the pressure exerted on a surface by the fluid or gas is inversely proportional to the gas"" speed. Therefore, the pressure exerted by the wind on the inside of the shelter at the bottom vent is greater than the pressure at the top of the tube. The resulting pressure difference forces air in through the bottom vent, and out through the top tube. The airflow carries the scent of the shelter""s occupants out the top of the tube, high enough so that nearby animals will not smell the occupants.
Although the primary purpose of enclosing the blind is to allow the wind to create the necessary airflow, it has the added advantage of protecting the occupants from cold or wet weather.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a wildlife blind which hides the occupants from the animal""s sense of smell.
It is another object of the invention to provide a wildlife blind which bides the occupants from the animal""s sight.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a wildlife blind which protects the occupants from cold or wet weather.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a portable wildlife blind.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.